Interesting Focus… I feel that a writing office has to be comfortable and I like to surround myself with books and other nifty stuff, including a white board. But this is the first time in almost two decades I have built a new writing place. So that is forcing me to stop and think some about this task. Now, I understand, I can write anywhere. Especially in this city. And I most likely will. But I want that anchor point, the place to go back to. I need a place to focus my writing. I can do sessions or entire short stories anywhere, even novels in hotel rooms. But I…

Strunk and White… The Elements of Style… Yup, tossed it without hesitation into a garbage can. And I own a bookstore and never toss away books. But that book is so evil to fiction writers, I felt dirty even touching it.  I was cleaning and packing Kris and my nonfiction library to bring some of the books to Vegas last week. There, tucked between two other books and hiding on a lower shelf was a copy of the book of evil. I saw it, grabbed it and without a thought flipped it into a garbage can. Why? Because that book can do more damage to a writer’s voice than pretending…

Seriously, You Can’t Fail At Writing Unless You Quit Writing… That’s why I called those twenty items in yesterday’s blog tombstones. They mark the moment a writer stops writing. The reason for the death of the dream. And it is always the writer who makes the decision to quit. The failure is always self-inflicted. But today I got some wonderful comments and private letters about how many of you have made it through some of these death markers. And that is fantastic and each letter and comment made me smile. Because few do make it through. How to you get through all the traps that can kill your writing? First,…

A Sort of Look At Tombstone Markers… I’ve been thinking about trying this post for a year or more now, but this last news about the agent ripping off 3.4 million from writers (at least) brought this back to the front. So I’m going to try it. The idea is simple. From my position of being around for 40 years, liking to watch other writer’s careers, and editing and teaching and interacting with writers now for over thirty years, I have seen what flat kills writer’s careers. They are always, and I repeat always, self-inflicted wounds. And one note before I dive into this. Those of us who have survived…

The Agent Theft News Has Me Thinking… I am sitting here in a beautiful condo high over the city of Las Vegas, staring at this screen on my little iPad and wondering where I would be if I hadn’t fired my agents and then found this new world of Indie Publishing. I might be here in Vegas somewhere, but I would not be writing. Of that I have no doubt. I was fed up with all the crap with agents and baby editors and lack of respect. I was done with writing and always hurrying up to hit some deadline or another then only to wait until someone got around…